Full service agency McKenzie Partners announces key senior hires

McKenzie Partners has announced the addition of two senior staffers, revealing the hires of Michelle Rowling and Jodie Smith.

Rowling joins the marketing and ad agency as its new group account director, while Smith takes on a newly created role of business operations manager.

Michelle Rowling & Jodie Smith

Formerly the head of marketing at Bankstown Sports, Rowling said she is “delighted” to join McKenzie Partners, which is a founding member of the IMAA.

Rowling also spent over seven years in state and national marketing teams at News Corp.

“After all that 2020 had thrown at me, I was up for the challenge. It is an incredible opportunity to be able to support the marketing causes and overall needs of a broad range of businesses and industries, while tapping into my media expertise.”

“Over time, I hope to share my diverse experience and client- side insights and, of course, relish in the variety. Next year I’ll finish my MBA, so it will be great to extend myself and put these learnings into practice.”

Smith joins with extensive experience leading agency and brand sales teams at carsales.com.au, Fairfax Media (now Nine Entertainment Co.) and News Corp. She also spent time in brand partnerships with Fremantle Media.

“I look forward to working with the McKenzie team to streamline and grow our partnerships with leading media and platforms,” Smith said.

“With the disruption and reset due to COVID, I feel it’s a great time to be in an agile business that can adapt quickly and continue to provide market-leading solutions for our clients.”

McKenzie Partners logo

McKenzie Partners clients are primarily located across the auto, retail, legal and finance industries.

CEO Darren McKenzie said the new appointments top off “a truly transformational year” for the agency.

“Both bring with them a wealth of experience that will set us up for further wins in 2021. Talent is our key ingredient for success in 2021 and, along with some new members across various departments within the business, they are key placements,” he said.

Earlier this year McKenzie Partners launched a marketing platform for the automotive industry called TRAFFK.